Sherrone Moore ecstatic about Michigan checking critical boxes in huge Reliaquest Bowl win over Alabama
Michigan's 2024 college football season was far from perfect, but after the Wolverines defeated Alabama in the Reliaquest Bowl Sherrone Moore couldn't help but be proud of his team as he bragged on his players and coaching staff throughout his post-game press conference on Tuesday.Everyone knew it would be difficult for Sherrone Moore and Michigan […]
Michigan's 2024 college football season was far from perfect, but after the Wolverines defeated Alabama in the Reliaquest Bowl Sherrone Moore couldn't help but be proud of his team as he bragged on his players and coaching staff throughout his post-game press conference on Tuesday.
Everyone knew it would be difficult for Sherrone Moore and Michigan to follow up their national championship season, but constant quarterback struggles, major turnover problems, and their Big Ten-worst offense made it looks like the year might be a complete failure early on. Thankfully the team began to turn things around late in the season, looking especially impressive in their final game against Alabama, checking critical boxes where they struggled to find success earlier in the year.
Michigan dominated turnover margin
The Wolverines kicked off the 2024 season with 15 turnovers in their first seven games of the season, posting an embarrassing -7 mark in the turnover margin department. However, down the stretch this season, and especially in the win over Alabama, Michigan dominated the turnover margin.
The Wolverines defense recovered two fumbles against the Crimson Tide on Tuesday, one forced, one off a dropped snap by Jalen Milroe. Those two recoveries combined with Wesley Walker's ridiculous tip pick to himself that you can see in the post below essentially won Michigan them the game that ended 19-13 in favor of the Wolverines.
The Michigan defense just kept building momentum after every single turnover. They were playing with confidence, aiming to force mistakes constantly. This was apparently a huge point of emphasis throughout bowl preparations according to Sherrone Moore:
"[In bowl preparation presentations] we talked about +2 [in the turnover margin]. Coach [LaMar] Morgan brought up being +2 [in the middle of the game], and I think at that time we were +3. I go, 'We're +3 right now. We've got a chance to win this game. We're going to go win this game now.'"
It's great to see Michigan completely flip the script on their early-season turnover issues to end out the year. This bodes well for a strong start to the offseason and their 2025 campaign.
Michigan run game firmly established
Coach Moore was also pumped to see his run game imposing their will on Alabama all game long despite missing their top running backs, Kalel Mullings and Donovan Edwards. Moore was especially proud of his true freshman running back Jordan Marshall who stepped up big time with 100 yards on the day:
"Yeah I think he's got a bright future. [Jordan Marshall] reminds me so much of Blake [Corum]. The way he approaches his business and what he does off the field to take care of his body. But it's also how he runs. He's a physical runner. He can make people miss. He can run you over. And he obviously has that burst…Jordan Marshall's going to be a special back. He's got a lot of ability, but he works really hard…When you rush for over 100 yards against Alabama it's good…It felt like we were getting the movement necessary to get the runs going. When you have those type of drives where you're leaning on people and you're getting five-minute drives it means those guys up front are doing a good job."
Michigan always plays a physical brand of football, leaning on their run game, but to be able to do it with a true freshman running back was incredible to see against Alabama.
Michigan defense won without stars
Everyone knew it would be tough to stop Jalen Milroe and Alabama without star defensive tackles Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant, tight end Colston Loveland, and cornerback Will Johnson, but Michigan was up to the task. Sherrone Moore couldn't stop gushing over his defense:
"Credit to the players. You don't have Mason Graham or Kenneth Grant. People think there's this big fall-off. Now, those are two incredible players, but our guys really take a lot of pride in being physical…Our defense played lights out to end the year. Northwestern, held them to 6. Ohio State, held them to 10. [Alabama], held them to 13. Especially Ohio State and [Alabama]–explosive offenses that can put up points on the scoreboard…Shout out to all our guys. So many guys made plays…The defensive front started it all, then it just permeated through everybody else."
Edge defender Derrick Moore destroyed Michigan up front all game long as he tallied two sacks. Wesley Walker and Cameron Brandt stepped up big time with pivotal turnovers, both of them playing in expanded roles. It was a dominant team effort, and Michigan fans should be excited about the future with a destructive defense that performs like this even without their best players.
We'll be back with more Michigan Wolverines coverage here at A to Z Sports here soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
And if you would like to watch the full post-game press conference from Sherrone Moore after the win over Alabama you can do so in the video below!
